The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 94 – The Revived Myth

What I asked of Hercules through the Styx Oath was simple.
He had to fight me with the intent to kill, but without actually killing me.
In other words, I would come at him with the intent to kill, and he had to do the same.

“What?”

At that moment, I felt the oath etched into both our hearts slowly activating and enforcing its compulsion.
An intangible energy rose around Hercules like a mirage.
The oath, made by the Goddess of the Styx, who predated even the gods themselves, was never to be taken lightly.

“What on earth is happening?”

“There’s no time for half-measures. You’ve got to push through a few stages quickly, even if it’s tough.”

The only way to grow stronger quickly.
That was the only thing—a life-and-death struggle with a strong and dangerous opponent.

“Tsk… You’re going to regret this, you know?”

“You better make it so. If you don’t want to die before graduating.”

Even gods, if they break their oath to the River Styx, fall into a long death-like sleep due to the curse of the Goddess Styx, and mortal souls are said to fall into Tartarus.
In any case, Hercules had no choice.
However, the guy who seemed a bit flustered soon adjusted his expression, took the stance he had learned from me, and aimed his fist at me.

“So, you’re saying I can go all out?”

“If you hold back, you’ll die.”

“I can’t afford to die, right?”

“I’d be grateful if you could die in my place.”

“Rubbish!”

-Boom!

Like a massive missile, Hercules rushed at me in a tackle stance.
His crossed arms were as thick as beams, his face well-guarded beneath them.
The time spent pounding discipline into him had clearly paid off—his tackle guard was perfect.

“Zeeeeuuuussssssss!!”

“Hmm…!”

Normally, I would dodge and counter such a head-on clash.
But despite feeling a chill from the force, I held my stance and collided.

-Boom!

“Kraaaaah!!!”

“…!!”

It felt like being hit by a wild boar—no, an elephant.
An overwhelming force and massive body, combined with incredible speed and precision in the body slam.
Hercules and I were instantly flung off the cliff, soaring through the air.

-Whooooosh!

A dizzying sensation enveloped my entire body.
But more than the floating sensation, Hercules and I both noticed the punches and kicks targeting each other’s openings.

-Bang! Boom! Thud!

In an instant, dozens of exchanges of clashes took place in midair.
I grabbed one of his log-splitting chops with both hands, twisting it away while throwing a kick. He countered by blocking my kick with his palm as big as a cauldron, trying to grab me and hurl me down.
Every time an attack collided, the air tore apart, and the explosive sound shook my ears.
A thrilling battle where even a moment’s distraction or a slight error could cost one’s life.
The end came abruptly, as the earth loomed up to meet us.

-Boom!

Our fists collided in mid-air.
The shocking impact traveled up my arm as if I had struck iron, and as I created distance from the shock, I caught a glimpse of the small heroes above, watching us from the cliff in stunned silence, as if in slow motion.

-Thud!

-Bang!!

I absorbed the shock and landed on the ground with a somersault.
However, Hercules was flung in the exact opposite direction into the middle of the sea, causing a massive tidal wave.

“Uwaaah!”

“What the hell is this mess now?!”

“Everyone evacuate! Evacuate!”

“Evacuate, my foot! Maintain formation immediately! Can’t you all hear?”

The young heroes, who had been closing in to surround me, scattered in panic as the enormous wave sent them fleeing.
Jason and Theseus were running around busily to somehow manage the situation.
But I had no time to worry about that.

“You’ve grown a lot, kid.”

-Whooosh!

Even at a glance, it was clear that the massive tidal wave Hercules had raised was aimed precisely at me.
Under it, the great hero was fiercely charging at me, his entire body flashing with lightning, glaring at me.

-Kuwaaah!!

Pure demonic qi, not Godly Demonic Qi, as it didn’t mix divine power.
If my divine power were the pitch-black night of a new moon, then demonic qi was the darkness that devoured any impurity.
Savage and fierce, it could swallow even its user in an instant if not handled with care.
That was precisely what demonic qi was.
Having become proficient in using divine power, it was now time to master the demonic qi of Demonic Cultivation instead of the Martial Spirit Cultivation Technique.
The one I designated for this was Hercules, who seemed on the verge of awakening divine power at a glance.

“Other Heavenly Path’s Heavenly Arts.”

Just uttering its name made the demonic qi within me surged, threatening to consume me.
In the past, it was the most powerful technique of the Crazy Demonic Warrior in the history of the Demonic Sect, who dared to challenge the realm of the Heavenly Demon with solitary training.
The leader of the Twelve Divine Demons, who gathered the Twelve Demonic Warriors to create the demonic domain of the River Styx that even the King of Hell could not challenge.
The True Demon Asura Demon Lord.
Among the Twelve Divine Demons, the worst master, who was uniquely strong and uniquely wicked, remained a colossal wall to me, a supreme powerhouse whom I could only revere even after reaching the realm of the Heavenly Demon King.
Yet, this damned mythical world has forced me to bring out the true demonic arts of that horrific demonic god.

-Kuqua-ga-ga-ga!

Beyond my pitch-black vision, I could clearly see Hercules leaping over the surface, driving a massive tidal wave.
Indeed, he was a great hero destined to bear the grand and mighty divine duty of strength and heroism.
Even as he charged toward my still terrifying and fearsome Other Heavenly Path’s Heavenly Arts, there was not a trace of fear in his eyes.

He only burned with the will to clash head-on, asking if that was all my power and urging for a proper confrontation.
Therefore, I too had the duty to face him head-on.

From ancient times, wasn’t it the duty of an Asura to confront heroes?
With this in mind, I too smiled contentedly and slowly released the demonic qi enveloping my entire body.

“Waves.”

It appeared so suddenly that it didn’t even feel real.

A tidal wave, as if it would swallow the very earth, charged forward, crackling with thunder and lightning.
In contrast, a pitch-black abyss reminiscent of Tartarus stood its ground.

Those who had managed to avoid the tidal wave in time now stopped in their tracks, awestruck by the overwhelming spectacle unfolding before them.

Until just a moment ago, not only Hercules but also Dianes, who had fallen together…
The young heroes, ignited with the will to capture them in one go, could only gape in awe at the suddenly unfolding mythological spectacle.

“This can’t be…”

“Hahahaha. Crazy.”

It was as if the wrath of the gods had descended.
The tidal wave loomed, as if it would engulf the entire Forest of Heroes, only to be matched by the abyssal rift, a force so terrible that even the gods themselves would fear it.
Mesmerized, all they could do was gaze in awe at the coming collision.
The winged twins born of the North wind.
The hunter who served Artemis.
The two women who ran worried about their lover.
The half-man, half-centaur, and the nymph, who came running due to the commotion outside the barrier.
The bard holding a lyre.
The commander of Thebes who encouraged the young heroes.
Even the brilliant strategist blinded by jealousy.

They all stood, helpless as mortals before a calamity, witnessing the immense forces crash together.

The two forces, charging at each other quickly yet slowly, gradually got closer.
And finally, they collided.

-!!

Someone later recalled it as if two monsters roared.
Someone recorded that when the primordial egg cracked, it was the labor pains of light and darkness.
Someone shuddered, saying that the war of Zeus and Kronos was reenacted through the reproduction of the Titanomachy.

No one dared to put into words what that sound was, believing they had seen an illusion even those who weakly avoided it could not be blamed by anyone.

The ones who reenacted a fragment of that magnificent myth.
How could anyone easily believe that they were two extraordinary young heroes who dined and shared wine with them?

However, the myth did not end with a single clash.

– Rumble!

A massive tidal wave that would normally shatter and scatter in all directions upon collision began to roar against the ruling abyss.
Accepting this, the abyss fiercely pushed back the tidal wave, crushing it.
In defiance, a colossal force raised the abyss like Atlas holding up the sky, sustaining the tidal wave.

-Kuwaaaaak!

-Uwooooooo!

While everyone else was mesmerized by the massive spectacle, unable to take their eyes off it.
A few skilled individuals focused all their attention on those fiercely battling below.

In the very center of the collision of the two immense forces.
Two divine figures, darting between land, sea, and sky, were already far beyond human limits.

“Zeusssss!!!”

Chanting the name of the Supreme God, the giant hero wielded the lightning of the Supreme God in his hand.
Each time he swung his brilliant, blazing lightning and thunder, the air shook, and waves surged.

“Kahahahaha!!”

Laughing loudly as if he didn’t believe in gods, the black demon wielded his dark power.
It was as if witnessing the return of Hecatoncheires, with his twelve swinging arms causing the abyss to tremble and the earth to wail.

“…Kronos, my goodness.”

The sage, half-human and half-centaur, who witnessed this, couldn’t close his mouth due to the shiver running down his spine.
The war of long ago, now forgotten and even faint in his memory.
The war with the Titans, the colossal beings who shook the earth and reached for the sky, seemed to be revived right in front of his sanctuary.